Hi all,

I have an old 1956 Astoe SJ tabletop television I am restoring, and while I am without a step-down transformer for my Sencore CRT tester, I may as well start the cabinet restoration.

My main question is about restoring the cabinet itself. The timber is in decent condition, though needs to be refinished. The original finish has cracked into little pieces, that you can pretty much brush off with your hand. What would be the recommended procedure for restoring the cabinet to it's former glory.

The set uses a glass panel in front of the CRT, as a form of protection against CRT inplosion I suppose? It has a faint blue/purple tint to it, but is regrettably damaged. Are there glass laminates or something available that are of a similar colour?

Lastly, the set is missing the plastic speaker/control grille on the front, which unfortunately detracts from the appearance majorly. Does anyone have a spare, or know where I can obtain one?

Thanks,

Chris

The best way I have used to restore woodgrain TV cabinets is to stain it with wood stain

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"I'd rather have a CRT than nothing" - me
"people just throw working CRTs out, it is NOT FUNNY!" -me

Have you restored any sets yourself though Nathan? I thought your friend Steve did all your restorations?

There are many finishes available, in an even wider array of colours/hues. I don't imagine the cabinet would need any extra work (sanding down etc.) prior to finishing it, aside from stripping the existing lacquer.

Chris

Chris

Is the timber, raw timber or veneer.

If its veneer you really dont want to go too hard on the sanding.

Paint strip the cabinet. leave the stripper on only enough to do the job. rinse off and then give it a good coat of vinegar to neutralise the stripper.

If there are repairs required, then do them now.

Couple of options here, you can rub the cabinet with grain filler, this will give a really nice finish. rub it in with a rag, just enough to do the job. a run over with very fine steel wool (size 0000 - not the stuff from coles!) will finish it off. If you are happy with the grain pattern you can skip this step.

Ideally, spray the lacquer on, let dry between coats and a quick rub with more steel wool.

Pick a finish appropriate to the age of the TV. Super shiney gloss enamal usually doesnt look right. It may on a telly, but not on a radio. I leave that to your discretion.

I use nitro-cellulose laquer on my radio cabinets, as this is what generally was used in the 1920s - 1940s.

Its hard to source in hardware shops, but can be purchased at paint wholesalers.


Ben

There are many solutions. I think better you can contact a person who repair successfully your cabinet.

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Counting down the banning of spammer ngsaftey ... 5...4...3..

Yeah, it's all too easy to predict, isn't it.

What test/tag has to do with cabinet restoration will probably remain one of life's mysteries.

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A valve a day keeps the transistor away...

Before the sandpaper, see what you can pull off with duct tape